Grudge And Negative Health Effects?

Some more some less, everyone felt badly treated at times. Perhaps a friend has betrayed you, criticized you from behind. You may have needed someone, but they put you at the bottom of their priorities. All of this probably made you feel a grudge.

Maybe a professor didn’t recognize an effort you made. Maybe your parents didn’t understand a difficulty you were facing. Maybe your partner has fallen in love with another person. Some more or less, all of them found themselves in similar circumstances. Have you ever felt a grudge ?

Emotions and health

It would be nice if negative emotions were accompanied by warning messages. It would be helpful if television shows used some of their broadcasts to teach how to keep negative emotions in check. Poorly managed negative emotions can be a major health hazard.

For example, depression is associated with changes in the immune system. People with depression are at a higher risk of having a heart attack than those who have never suffered from this condition. In women, depression appears to increase the risk of getting osteoporosis. In men, it predicts a decline in muscle strength over a period of 3 years.

Anxiety also appears to be associated with the development of heart problems. Plus, it appears to delay healing after surgery. On the other hand, chronic hostility is proven to be a risk factor for heart disease; it can even lead to death. The best known example is the type A behavioral model.

What is resentment

Grudge is an emotional state common to many people. As with many feelings, resentment produces a certain behavior that puts the person in a vicious circle. It can be accompanied to some extent by obstinacy and blindness. This attitude can be very resistant to the countermeasures we take to get rid of it.

Thus it  causes an emotional wound.  Unfair abuse, unfulfilled expectations or betrayed trust. These are all reasons why a person can feel anger and resentment, or a feeling of rejection towards those who caused the state of discomfort.

On the other hand, if we described it as a trend, we could say that a resentful person finds it hard to forget, for example, differences of opinion after an argument with a couple or a friend. It may also take a long time to assimilate what happened, forgive and forget.

How does grudge affect health?

Witvliet et al. (2002) studied the emotional and physiological consequences of acting out of grudge. They did this through an experiment. A group of college students was asked to choose a series of  past offenses. The majority came from friends, partners, siblings or parents.

These offenses included denials, lies or insults. After that, the scholars collected the various testimonies and psychophysiological data. These data included heart rate, blood pressure, and facial muscle tension.

Data and testimonies were collected as students imagined their reactions to these offenses, whether they were lenient or resentful. In a condition of indulgence, the students had to think about feelings of leniency or empathy towards what had offended them. In conditions of resentment, they had to maintain the role of victims and focus on the harm received and show a grudge.

Our thoughts affect our health

Did both points of view change the mood and physiological state of the participants in the experiment? The answer is yes. When asked to be lenient, participants experienced more feelings of empathy and leniency. When they were asked to show bitterness and resentment, however, negative, sad and hostile feelings surfaced in them, along with the loss of control.

There was also an increased tension in the eyebrows and an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and electrical conductivity of the skin. The latter symptom indicates a stimulation of the autonomic nervous system, which prepares us when we perceive a threat.

A further discovery was even more surprising. When the experiment ended, the participants were asked to relax. Subjects who imagined feelings of resentment were unable to do so. The state of high physiological activity that they had reached by looking back on past offenses was very difficult to eliminate. The alteration or anxiety persisted long after the experiment.

Grudge: a dangerous attitude

What impact did the results of this study have? Experiencing feelings of hostility in a fleeting way is not enough to cause harm to health. Nonetheless,  people who have a tendency to mull over the offenses they have received adopt a negative attitude towards their health. Feeding anger, with consequent physiological reactions, can have negative consequences for the functioning of the cardiovascular and immune systems.

This is why feeding a grudge can be dangerous for our health. It is not always easy to forgive those who offend us, of course, but doing so has positive effects. It decreases stress and increases well-being. We could compare the effects of a grudge to a very heavy load on the shoulders. It could be dangerous to our health to the point of getting sick. For this reason, it is better to prioritize health, consciously deciding not to continue to feed the grudge.